SolKar: Merry Gristmas
by xXCherryxSweetxTemptationsXx
Summary: Gift-fic for my co-writer on this account./ It's Gristmas Eve, and Sollux isn't exactly feeling the holiday spirit. When the twins destroy his gift for his matesprit, and a message from a certain prankster, will he be able to turn the night around and make it one for Karkat to remember?/ Rated for language. This DOES have Karkat in it, afterall.


**[A.N.: Merry Christmas, one and all! This is something I wrote for my partner in crime and passion, the beautiful soul who may just love all things shipping and Homestuck even more than I do; Emi. (I'm just putting all of that, not only because it's true, but because I enjoy watching her go all "kdslfjdsk" when I compliment her. =w=) Anyway, I hope you enjoy, my lovely! Feel free to edit this document with your comments at the very end, if you so choose. I hope you (and all of our wonderful readers) had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays.**

**Also. I haven't forgotten about "LMBYS" or anything, promise! I've had some issues with some files on my laptop, so what I had done is no longer done, and I've been recently working on gift-fics for all of my lovelies... I will be updating, though. Promise!]**

**Disclaimers: This is a fictional, fan-made work based off of the characters from Homestuck. Homestuck and all of its characters belong to Andrew Hussie, and I am in no way trying to claim or make any profit off of them.**

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

It all had started with a simple message from John. The human was often pulling jokes or pranks, so this wasn't that unusual. However, it was the content that had really made it stand out so...

It was another snowy day in what humans called the month of December, towards its end. The holiday everyone had on their minds was Gristmas, and those who had procrastinated on their Gristmas duties were rushing about here and there, trying to find suitable gifts to give on this wintery holiday. Sollux, of course, had made sure to get his presents early to avoid the bustling noise in town. Winter was the time of year when he generally got most of his migranes, and he would rather allow a wild fangbeast to gut him alive than face a hoard of pissy Gristmas shoppers with a migrane. He prefered peace and quiet to all of that chaos.

Speaking of quiet... Their hive was a little too quiet now. With his matesprit gone at yet another doctor's appointment, that left Sollux alone with their young grubs. Their young grubs, while still small and unable to do much more than crawl around everywhere, were a force to be reckoned with, and he had figured out the hard way that it was when they were quiet that they were probably causing the most trouble. Sure enough, the silence was broken by a loud ripping sound, followed by two, short cries. Pushing his chair away from his desk, he quickly got to his feet and made his way down the hallway, following the noise of the twins' bickering.

What he found made his heart drop into his stomach.

The smallest of the grubs turned her purple, faintly glowing eyes up to her "father" and blinked, as though none of this needed any sort of explanation. She couldn't talk yet anyway, so he didn't bother asking. The red-eyed twin was thrashing angrily against the psionic hold around his pudgy abdomen, while his brother simply lay limp in its grasp, looking down at it with a mild curiosity. Between them, on the floor, lie the shredded remains of his gift for Karkat. Though it hadn't been much, he had finally been able to find a certain type of clothing material that he had been looking for. It was supposed to be thin and light, unbelievably soft, but warm enough to keep out even the most bitter of chilly winds. It had been hard to find, and expensive, and it had taken Kanaya weeks to figure out how to best craft it into a sweater for his matesprit. She had even lined the inside of it with a fuzzy material, so it was even more comfortable. After the birth of the grubs, certain shirts irritated his sensitive skin where the stitches had been.

A low, rumbling growl escaped him, and he fought to keep his temper in check before he snapped at them. Instead, he strode into the room and snatched up the tattered remains of his present before giving the three of them a solid glare and walking right back out. Down the hall and back into the living room, where he slumped into his computer chair and gave a long, weary sigh. 'What the fuck am I gonna do now...?' It was Gristmas Eve. There was hardly any time to go present-hunting, and even if there were enough time, he couldn't leave without the grubs. Everyone else, he knew, was too busy today to watch after them for him, too...

He was shit out of luck.

He ran a hand through his hair and gave a groan, "Shit..." Though he knew Karkat would understand, he also knew the cherry-blood would be disappointed- especially if he saw just what his gift was going to be. Maybe he could fix it...? He lifted up what had once been a shirt, inspecting it. One sleeve was completely missing- he wondered briefly if one of the twins had eaten it- and it was so torn and ripped, it was hardly recognizable. There was no way. The ruined article of clothing was tossed onto the desk, and he rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

He knew it wasn't their fault, really... but gogdamn, did those grubs manage to piss him off at times. The twins were always getting into some sort of trouble, particularly when they were together. One was always picking on the other, and the other was always pissing off the one. It was like an endless cycle, and Sollux was grateful that he hadn't had to put up with this any other time in his life. He saw now why trolls didn't reproduce like this. And the girl... just... Well, she didn't really do much, but she certainly did know how to aggrivate her brothers, and-

A beeping noise from his husktop broke him from his thoughts. Trollian's icon was flashing, letting him know that someone had sent him a message. Giving a small grunt, he sat up and clicked on the icon, frowning more deeply at the username. What could he possibly want?

-ectoBiologist [EB] began trolling twinArmageddons [TA]-

EB: hey sollux! :B

TA: whatever iit ii2 you want could you ju2t get two the poiint 2o ii can 2top talkiing two you?

EB: wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the alien...slime-pod-thing this morning.

EB: what's got you in such a bad mood today?

TA: not that iit2 any of your bu2iine22, but the grub2 ju2t completely de2troyed my grii2tma2 pre2ent for kk

EB: oh... wow that sucks

TA: yeah no 2hiit iit 2uck2

EB: well... gosh, can't you just go out and get him another one?

TA: no

TA: thii2 wa2 2omethiing ii had two have made cu2tom and ii cant leave our hiive riight now becau2e kk ii2nt here

TA: ii dont want two talk about thii2 anymore 2o ju2t tell me what you wanted

EB: oh, well, i guess i didn't really need anything

TA: well great then why dont you go pe2ter 2omebody el2e?

TA: uh

TA: hello? egbert?

-ectoBiologist [EB] is idle!-

Frowning, Sollux pulled away a bit from his husktop and waited. Maybe the human had simply forgotten he left the chat window up? He thought about closing out of it, just so he wouldn't have to look at it taking up space on his window. Navigating the mouse-pointer to the little 'x' at the top of the window, he paused when he saw another line of text pop up suddenly.

EB: woah sorry about that!

EB: someone sent me this really weird thing

EB: want to see it?

He cocked a brow and, though he was half-tempted to just ignore John and close out of the window regardless, he moved the cursor to the small, white textbox, then moved his fingers to dance across the keyboard.

TA: 2ure why the fuck not

TA: iit miight even qualiify a2 beiing worth the tiime iim 2pendiing two lii2ten two you

EB: okay, rude.

EB: but, here you go!

-ectoBiologist [EB] is sending a file-

The download began, and his defensive programs immediately began scanning it for any sort of virus or malicious software. None was detected, so he scoffed and clicked on the file's icon to open it. It was a word document, from the looks of it. At the very top, it was titled "The Saddest Short Story In The World". Below that were two, tiny lines of text. Slightly puzzled, Sollux narrowed his eyes a bit and leaned forward to read it.

_"For Sale:_

_Baby shoes. Never worn."_

It wasn't much of a story, despite what the title had claimed. It didn't even seem all that sad. Humans were absolute morons afterall, the Gemini decided; especially John Egbert.

But…

A small, insect-like leg poked at his calf, and the honey-blood cocked a brow and leaned over slightly to look at who it was. The smallest grub was sitting there, looking up at him expectantly. Though her expression was rather blank-looking, there were the smallest hints of tiny, cherry-red tears in the corners of her wide, purple eyes.

And then it all came down on him.

Though the names for their young were different, the meaning was still just as powerful, particularly to Sollux. The little girl they had yet to name, along with her brothers, was the one of three that had been expected to perish. The long perigees of waiting for her to open her eyes, and the delayed amount of time it took for her to hatch had weighed heavily on their minds and hearts. Had she not hatched at all, and had that egg stayed just that—an egg, with their unborn grub inside- then they would be the ones putting up that kind of sign. Oddly enough, the humans had insisted on them throwing a "baby shower", though Karkat had gone on and on about how ridiculous it was to throw an infant into an ablution trap. Gifts were given, and the matesprit pair of Rose and Kanaya had given them clothing for their wrigglers, when they finally developed to the point of being able to wear such things.

The memories all just kind of faded out for the moment as that tiny little leg pulled at his pantleg again, a small, insistant whine coming from her tiny lungs. Snapping from his thoughts, he leaned down and gingerly scooped her up into his arms. His chest felt unusually tight when the small grub nuzzled in close to him, curling up on his lap and releasing a near silent, contented purr.

Yeah… that's right. They could have lost her. Those could be her shoes that are for sale, having never been worn. It still could be. Her body was small and frail, and she was far weaker than her brothers. If she were to get too cold, or if she were to get sick, then she could—

The small head nuzzling under his chin startled him a bit, unruly black hair tickling his jaw, and it was only then that he realized how watery his vision had become. He chuckled and cradled her in his arms for a few long, quiet moments, content with just holding her close for now. All of his anger and frustration with them before seemed to have simply vanished, and he suddenly found himself craving their company.

Since when had Sollux Captor become such an emotional sap?

He shut off his husktop without a reply to the human and pushed away from the desk, gently scratching his claws over the little grub's scalp. A wide smile pulled its way across his lips when he heard her small, buzzing purr; it sounded so much like Karkat's that it was almost comical. He got to his feet and went back into the twins' room, finding another familiar sight.

The red-eyed twin was obviously sulking angrily in that way his matesprit was known for doing, while its blue-eyed brother simply lay beside him, chirping lazily and nuzzling against his side. It was an adorable sight, to be sure, and Sollux couldn't help but chuckle at it. The sound of his laughter, of course, caught their attention, and they immediately crawled over to him. He knelt down and pat their heads. "It'th okay, I'm not mad anymore." They gave a small "curr" sound and but their small horns up against his hand in an affectionate gesture. It wasn't really all that big of a deal. Sure, it had been difficult to obtain, but losing his matesprit's Gristmas present wasn't the end of the world. He did want to try and find something, though…

His grin widened as an idea came to mind. Though there wasn't much time to pull it off, he was going to make sure this was a Gristmas they would all remember.

"Come on guyth, let'th go get KK'th Grithtmath prethent."

* * *

"Ugh, three fucking hours…" A certain nubby-horned troll shoved his hands more deeply into his coat pockets, shivering against the cold. "How long does it fucking take to get a few simple examinations over with? I mean gogdamn, seriously!" A sigh fell from his lips and he decided to instead focus on what was waiting for him at home. His matesprit wasn't exactly a holiday-cheer type of troll, so there wasn't much chance of a big celebration. He might spend most of the night on the computer, as he had been lately. 'Merry fucking Gristmas to you, too…' Thinking about that, and the mess that no doubt waited for him at home, was only dampening his mood. Whatever happened to the whole "spirit of Gristmas," or the whole "good tidings" and all that bullshit?

"Whatever, not like I give a shit about some stupid holiday."

He trudged onward through the thick, white snow covering the ground, cursing when he slipped on a patch of ice hidden underneath. "Fuck you, too, winter!" he barked, though it lacked much of its usual bite. He was too tired to rage, even at some inanimate, slippery object that just tried to kill him. No, especially that.

Karkat could see their hive up ahead and quickened his pace, wanting more than anything to get out of the cold. The door handle was turned and he pushed the door open, expecting to have greetings of "welcome home" and little happy chirps

…and finding an empty hive. The lights were all switched off, and even his matesprit's husktop lie sleeping, not so much as a single light flickering. The cherry-blood could feel his vascular pump sink a bit, though his usual defensive anger came to cover that up. "Fucking asshole, leaving without telling me where he was going!" He stepped inside and slammed the front door closed behind him, violently shucking off his coat and boots. They were tossed by the front door and forgotten as he stormed his way through the empty hive. At least the heat had been left on, so it was warm. That was a plus, even if there was nothing else. He stomped to the leisure block and sat heavily on the sofa, arms crossed over his chest. "Whatever. It isn't like I wanted to fucking do anything for Gristmas anyway. Go ahead! Leave me home alone. I don't care!"

He wasn't very good at convincing people—even if it was himself. He pulled his knees up to his chest, curling up on one corner of the couch, and blamed his sniffles on the cold weather outside.

"…Stupid Sollux."

* * *

He wasn't sure for just how long he had managed to doze off, but by the time he woke up, the world outside their hive was dark. It was fitting, Karkat thought, that everything seemed so cold and dark outside, while inside it was so warm, so comforting. However, waking up alone— not just alone in the recooperacoon, but completely alone- dampened that warmth, and sent a small chill through his chest. Where in the hell were his matesprit and grubs? It was strange, being alone, not hearing the usual bickering of the twins, or Sollux's chortling laughter when their little girl would break them up. The only familiar sound was the low hum of the husktop, which, in the silence, sounded far louder than it normally did. He didn't like it. The quiet, the emptiness, the lack of light, and warmth. It was..

It was lonely.

Frowning, he stretched his arms over his head for a moment before pushing himself up from the couch, rubbing his arm and glancing around, unsure of what to do. Maybe he should try texting the Gemini to see where they were?

Fishing into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and opened a new message, claws tapping against the keys a little too loudly in the quiet surroundings as he typed out his message.

-Message Sent at 9:45:18 to: "THOLLUCKTH"-

HEY. SO, I GET BACK FROM MY APPOINTMENT WITH THAT INCOMPENTANT DUMBSHIT, AND THE HIVE IS AS EMPTY AS AMPORA'S FUCKING QUADRANTS. WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? AND WHERE ARE THE GRUBS?

-End message-

A reply came far more quickly than he had expecting it, and he jumped so badly that he nearly dropped his phone. Saving it from clattering to the floor, he pulled up the new message and read, his hopeful expression quickly fading into one of disappointment.

-Message Received at 9:45:22from: "THOLLUCKTH"-

the grub2 are wiith me. we went out.

-End message-

That was it? All the answer he was going to get was "we went out?" ... _Really? _His sigh settled like a thick layer of dust over the empty room, laying out in plain sight just how dejected he really felt by this.

"Whatever…" he grumbled, shoving his phone back into his pocket. Why bother sending a message in return? He knew that he should have snapped at him, asked him why he didn't bother asking if Karkat wanted to go along. Sure, it wasn't that big of a deal, but…

Maybe he just wanted to spend some time with them on Gristmas, of all times.

Another heavy sigh fell from him, and he couldn't even bring himself to say that he didn't care; because, honestly, that was a lie. He knew it. Everyone knew it. There was no point in even trying to lie to himself anymore.

He made his way towards the kitchen, intent on finding something to eat (because, no doubt, they were out eating without him- … wow, he was feeling really bitter, wasn't he?) when he noticed, finally, that his matesprit's husktop was open. The little flashing yellow light on the front signaled that it was on, but the screen was black. 'It wasn't on when I got home… was it?' Frowning in slight curiosity, he leaned forward and hit the enter key, eyes narrowing as the bright screen flickered back to life.

There was... something, up on the screen. A word document, it looked like. He peered closer to read it, corners of his mouth pulling down into a deeper frown. It was closely followed by a quirked brow.

"hey kk

2o ii dont know when youll 2ee thii2

hopefully iit2 2oon

the thiing on the de2k next two the computer wa2 2uppo2ed two be your giift

the grub2 got a hold of iit and tore iit up though

2orry"

Crimson and yellow eyes shifted to look at the pile of black fabric, confusion etched into his features. He hesitantly picked it up and was immediately taken aback by how soft it felt. It seemed to radiate heat all on its own, as though it were a living, breathing organism. He could just barely make out his symbol- or what remained of it, anyway- on what he suspected to be the front. Running his fingers over the plush fabric, it came as a surprise to find that even the inside had been lined with some sort of fluffy, plush fabric. It was probably so that no one would notice it, but it would still be able to keep him warm.

There was a small bit of disappointment that he wouldn't be able to wear it anymore, but it was probably still able to be repaired. Maybe if he asked Kanaya...

Setting the sweater down, Karkat turned his eyes back to the screen, where even more text waited to be read.

"ii know that iive been kiind of a douche lately

and ii know how youre goiing two laugh and 2ay 2omethiing liike "when arent you" or 2omethiing

fuck you by the way

but

ii couldnt get you another 2weater liike that one iin tiime

but ii diid get you 2omethiing el2e

you 2hould go look out2iide

make 2ure two bundle up

iit2 cold a2 fuck out here"

It took him a moment to really process what he'd just read, but when he finally succeeded...

Karkat had never thrown on his coat and shoes in his life.

The first place he checked was the front lawnring. It was the same as when he had arrived back home, the ground covered in a smooth layer of white snow, flawless except for the footprints making a straight line leading to the front door. Not a single lispy troll or grub in sight. Frowning slightly, he turned just long enough to close the door behind him and shoved his hands into his pockets as he made his way around their hive. With the front vacant, that left the back lawnring.

The sight brought an almost immediate smile to his face.

The snow in the area had been gathered (no doubt with the help of his psionics) into different shapes, the largest of which being an archway, the sidewalk path leading directly underneath it, snow cleared away. Awkwardly-shaped swirls and curls lined the pathway, framing it, showing him exactly where he needed to go.

Like he couldn't tell with a single glance.

Standing beneath the marvelously crafted arch was Sollux, the twins both perched carefully on either shoulder. The sight would have made him laugh, if he hadn't been distracted by the small, tugging that he felt on his pant leg. He glanced down and, sure enough, there was his baby, his little girl. All bundled up in a sweater specially made for her grub-body by their jade-blooded friend, and wrapped in a plethora of blankets. He wondered for a moment how she managed to crawl over to him, but when she started floating, a small aura of red and blue surrounding her body, the confusion was quickly dispelled. Instead, he reached out, taking the small grub into his arms and holding her close. The amount of heat she was letting off was astounding- he could feel it clearly, even though his thick coat. A smile tugged at his lips when she purred and cuddle in close to his chest, her eyes closed in content.

"KK."

Then his matesprit's voice caught his attention, and he looked up to see that sexy grin- the one that was sure, but still held just enough of that awkwardness that he fell flushed for in the first place. The honeyblood motioned for Karkat to move closer, and he could do little more than obey, head feeling light. His feet moved on their own until he was standing before the Gemini, head tilted upward so he could meet the other's eyes.

Eyes that were now avoiding his.

Sollux scratched lightly at the back of his head nervously, giving a small chuckle. "Heheh... tho, yeah. Thorry about dragging you all the way out here like thith. I mean, with it being cold ath fuck and whatnot..." He trailed off then, as if he were unsure of what to say. Karkat glanced to the two grubs sitting on the other's shoulders.

"It looks like you precious little fuckers got into some trouble while I was gone, huh?" This pulled a snort from the mustard-blooded troll, and Karkat gave a small sigh. "It would have been a pretty amazing gift, too... Oh well. I'm sure Kanaya will be able to fix it somehow."

"Yeah..."

They simply stood there for the longest while, cheeks lightly flushed from more than just the winter cold. The honey-hue across the taller troll's cheeks darkened a bit as he stepped closer, hands resting on the nubby-horned troll's shoulders.

"I may not have a gift to give you thith Grithtmath eve, but I thought I would at leatht give you thomething." With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet box. It was too small to be anything of large worth, surely... at least, that's how it would seem. But that didn't change the way Karkat's vascular pump fluttered in his chest, or how the warmth spread across his cheeks.

The box was opened, and inside lay two shining silver bands. They were incredibly simple in design, but they were still breathtakingly beautiful nonetheless. One was engraved with the Cancer's zodiac symbol; the other, Gemini's.

Holding the box in one hand, Sollux awkwardly wriggled one of the bands- the one with the Cancer's symbol on it- free and slipped it onto his left ring finger. This... was something that seemed familiar somehow. It certainly wasn't anything from their own culture, so-

...Wait.

Wait a fucking minute.

Karkat could feel his heartrate skyrocket as he suddenly recalled where he had seen this ritual take place. It was in one of the far-less-superior Earth cinematic pieces. What was it called again...? Dammit. Something like a proposal, or some-

"Tho uh... yeah... I know thith might theem thtupid or whatever, doing thomething like thith. But I jutht figured I'd give it a try...? Or thomething? Ahhh..." He raised his now ring-bearing hand to his head again, running it through the long, black strands that fell nearly in front of his eyes- it had been a while since he'd cut it. He probably needed to do that soon... though, Karkat did enjoy running his fingers through his hair now that it was longer (though he wouldn't ever tell him that).

"It'th... I'm sure you've theen it in one of thothe shitty movieth. It'th kind of thtupid, actually, but... You know, what the hell?" Karkat tried to hold back a snort of laughter. There were times when the Captor absolutely took his breath away (in good ways and bad) by how witty he was when it came to finding just the thing to say. Other times, though, he was a fumbling fool, groping blankly for the right words, almost as if he were afraid to choose the wrong ones and upset him. These times seemed to have come more and more, particularly since the grubs had been born. "Jutht... here." Karkat could feel his hand being taken into his matesprit's, and he quickly readjusted the buzzing grub to lay cradled in his right arm, so the Gemini could fiddle with his left.

The ring was pulled from the box and carefully slid onto his finger. The metal was surprisingly warm against his skin, probably from spending however long in Sollux's jeans pocket. The only thing warmer at this point had to be either his face, or the smile on the other's face.

"We've had to put up with a lot of shit in a short amount of time, and... well, I know I haven't alwayth been the betht at dealing with it. I thay thingth that make you think I'm going to back out, and I'm thorry." Sollux's hands enveloped the cherry-blood's, and he leaned forward to press a soft kiss to his forehead. "I'm here, though... okay? I'll alwayth be here for you-" Two small squeaks came from the taller troll's shoulders, and Sollux couldn't help but chuckle. "And for thethe little guyth, too. Even if they are annoying little shitth thometimeth, they tend to grow on you."

"At least they didn't grow _in_ you," Karkat offered, and a small bit of laughter excaped the both of them.

"True. Very true," Sollux said in agreement, giving his head a slight nod. He paused, though, and slowly enveloped his matesprit in a warm embrace, chin resting atop his head. "I'm glad that you did, though... Thank you."

The Cancer felt his vascular pump give a small flutter, and he quickly wrapped his free arm around the other's neck, a small, growling purr working its way from his chest. "Flushed for you, you sappy moron..."

"You, too, babe... Betht Grithtmath ever."

"Yeah..."

* * *

**[A.N.: So, thus ends a pointlessly fluffy Gristmas fic, with Sollux and Karkat and their three grubs. They are nameless in this because (one) they haven't been named yet in our roleplay and (two) I haven't come up with any names for them yet. If only naming grubs were as easy as naming human babies... But their names have meaning and a lot more work to put into them. When we get to that point, then we'll probably come back to this and insert their names. Though, if you all have any suggestions for names, then I would love to hear them!**

**This was more for Emi than anything else, but think of this as something for all you readers, too! I hope you had a very, very Merry Christmas, and that you have a happy New Year!]**

**{A.N.: asdfglkhk;jshdfsa; tearing up oh my Gog I love you best present ever gfjlgs *heartheartheartheartallthehe arts***

**I think I feel an overwhelmingly fluffy one-shot coming on.. heheh.}  
**


End file.
